Junkyard Find: 1977 Ford LTD II Station Wagon

by Murilee Martin

Published: February 6th, 2015

junkyard find 1977 ford ltd ii station wagon

In one of those confusing branding moves that’s up there with the baffling Toyota Corolla Tercel, Ford decided to name a Torino-based midsize car the LTD II while keeping the regular full-sized LTD. This went on for the 1977 and 1978 model years, and then for 1979 the “big” LTD went to the Panther platform and sold alongside LTD IIs for that year. Why? Well, that’s like asking why Henry Ford II refused Soichiro Honda’s offer of cheap CVCC engines for the Fiesta a few years before! Anyway, here’s an extremely green first-year LTD II wagon (not a Country Squire, which was based on the larger “regular” LTD) that I spotted in Northern California a couple weeks back.

Do you like green interiors, and by that I mean large expanses of petrochemical-residue-exhaling I Can Totally Believe It’s Not Leather™ vinyl that still looks good and vivid after nearly 40 years of California sun?

This car has you covered! This car’s seats would make nice garage couches.

Ford sent out 23 million of these recall-evading stickers, thanks to the generosity of Ronald Reagan, and thus didn’t go bankrupt in the early 1980s. Most owners didn’t apply them, but this car’s circa-1982 owner did.

The engine compartment had a bit of a fire problem.

We can assume this car was earning its keep until the day of the fire.

Ford didn’t hesitate to pitch the big LTD as more car for the money. Look, bigger than a Cadillac, yet cheaper!

As for the LTD II: if you’re a sporty guy with a sporty mustache, the “trimmer” LTD II is for you!

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Murilee Martin

Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.

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2 of 115 comments

Amca on Feb 09, 2015

I love the high tech "click-click" of the light switch in the LTD II commercial. Funny to think from today's perspective just how archaic it was - even back then. And that something archaic wasn't seen as a problem for a brand association then.

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Wal65754673 on Nov 14, 2023

I'm looking for 1977 LTD2 interior parts

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Detlump I almost bought a dark red one of these when I was cross-shopping Volvo wagons. I didn't like the frameless glass of the doors but it was a close call. I wanted a wagon for my hockey gear and also carrying parts as I was an engineer at the time. SUVs weren't a thing at that point and I wanted an enclosed, secure cargo area.I ended up going with a 95 850 wagon and it has served me well. The only time it left me stranded (temporarily) was when the coil wire popped off. I also got a flat tire, but I can't blame the Volvo for that. BTW, I still have the 950 with 263,000 miles - just changed the timing belt too - I have that process down to about an hour by now!
Wjtinfwb 18 year old Euro with admitted "issues". RUN from this money pit. My experience with European cars is time is more of an enemy than Mileage. I'd rather a 5 year old BMW with 120k miles than a 15 year old one with 50k. Electronics, wiring, plastics, exterior trim etc. just crumble with time, particularly if the car has lived in a harsh climate outside. I have folders of receipts from BMW, VW and Audi shops if you'd like to see the evidence of my thesis.
Wjtinfwb We too have a Subaru, a '16 Crosstrek. Aside from it's appetite for batteries (or crappy Subaru batteries), so far it's been a reliable ride, but from day one I've always thought it felt flimsy. I'm sure we'll get good service out of it and have no plans to replace it, but won't be surprised if it starts nickel and diming up as all those plastics and the electronics start to age.
Bd2 Excellent article, very nice car. Thank you Murilee.
Make_light I like Subarus, and I often think they don't get enough credit for how they drive. Lots of people say it's the faux-rugged image that accounts for their popularity, but they also drive with a solidity and plantedness that's absent from a lot of the Japanese competition. That being said, this thing is ugly. I never felt that Subarus were as ugly as commenters claim they are. Boring, sure, but not necessarily ugly. But between this and the refreshed Legacy, it's like they're trying to make their vehicles look as incohesive and awkward as possible.